United We Fall
by MarauderV
Summary: Summary inside OotP with some new characters and new twists.  I'll continue if I get some happy reviewers, otherwise I'll just take it down and continue writing it for me.  Characters of interest: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Fred Weasley


Right. So. I suppose this is what many of you would call a MarySue type of fanfiction; but I'd invite you to read further since I haven't placed just one new character into the already existing story, but more than three. As such, a disclaimer is in order: I own the O'Mallys and Petra Jaimeson. JK Rowling owns everything else. I think that covers it.

**Summary:** Essentially this is OotP, a mixture of both the book and movie in terms of plot and series of events. Averi O'Mally is a fellow Gryffindor fifth year previously unfamiliar to Harry Potter. After the climactic events of their fourth year at Hogwarts, Averi expresses her support of Harry and his friends and she, along with her best friend, a Ravenclaw named Petra, quickly become enveloped in the life and times of our favorite trio. The story begins just before the first meeting of the DA in the Hog's Head, so a few months into the school year. I believe Weasley twin fans will enjoy this as well, as I hold a special spot for both Fred and George in my heart of hearts. Enjoy! Reviews are welcome, but please provide constructive criticism instead of simply insulting my writing or my ideas. Thank you!

_MarauderV_

* * *

"Potter!"

An unfamiliar female voice called from behind Harry, and before he could stop himself, he turned. Behind him was a girl about two inches shorter than he was, with pale, cobalt-blue eyes in Gryffindor robes. She had fair skin and shiny, dark brown hair that fell in a femininely shaggy manner about her shoulders and eyes. The way she tossed her hair from her eyes as she strode toward him was maddeningly familiar. Her robes made her decidedly friendly, but Harry did not know her name. Harry smiled warily, if not curiously.

"Yeah?"

"I'm Averi O'Mally, dunno if we've met," she said, shaking his hand briskly. Her smile was bright and jaunty, even a bit lopsided. It gave her a friendly, daring look. "Funny, since we've had a lot of the same classes since 1st year. Anyhow," she breathed, as if building up to something, "I thought you'd like to know that I believe you about Voldemort - "

Some of the people passing them twitched at the sound of the name. One girl tripped and was only saved from falling by her friend, who grabbed her arm. Averi seemed not to notice them.

" - and so do some of my friends. So, you've got a few more Gryffindors and Ravenclaws to count on."

Harry stared at her for a moment; she seemed as if she had expected this reaction, but not nearly as silent. Averi looked at him, blinking a few times.

"You said the name," Harry said dumbly. "Nobody says the name except – "

"You and Dumbledore, yeah, I know," she said, incredibly nonchalant. "Dad says there's no reason to be afraid of a name."

The phrase sounded familiar, but Harry didn't have enough time to pursue this new development. Instead, he flattened his hair consciously and smiled nervously. "Um, thanks, Averi. That uh, means a lot," he said, trying to find words to express his gratitude. "I'm sorry we never met, Hermione never – "

"It's all right. Hermione and I get along well, but I'd hardly expect her to introduce us," she replied, beaming. She was very pretty. "Anyway, see you around, Potter. Let me know if there's anything at all."

As she was about to leave, she pressed a piece of parchment into his hand and smiled before catching up to and linking arms with a Ravenclaw with strawberry-blonde hair. Harry waited until he had found his seat along with Ron and Hermione in Charms before opening the note. The writing was loopy and round, but not overly so.

_Harry,_

_My dad's in the Order and he's also an Auror with the Ministry, like Kingsley and Tonks. Don't hesitate to ask me for anything. You're not alone!_

_Averi O'Mally_

_P.S: This note will self-destruct after you read it!_

Sure enough, Harry had to drop the parchment, as it had started to burn with a purple flame. It was a tiny pile of ashes a few seconds later, and Hermione looked impressed.

"Is something burning?" Professor Flitwick squeaked from the corner.

Hermione whispered, "Evanesco." The ashes disappeared and the threesome went back to their work on Summoning Charms. As they did, they discussed Averi's parchment.

"Clever, that," said Hermione, a small smile on her lips. "It's a rather difficult charm. I always liked her."

"Liked her? I never even knew she exist – " Ron stopped mid-sentence, looking as if he had just realized something. Then – "She hangs around with Fred and George! I knew I'd seen her somewhere before, she sits with them a lot at dinner!"

"How come you never told us about her before, Hermione? She sounds like someone we could've used on our side before all this," said Harry, flicking his wand at the pencil across his desk.

"I never had a reason," Hermione replied, making the quill across the table zoom in her hand. "She's a very pleasant girl, funny, smart, too. Averi's different, but we can't assume anything, now can we?"

"I recognized her after I saw her," said Harry. Hermione's last comment had held a lot of meaning for him, since Seamus was fuming with him at the moment. "It's nice to know you two and Neville aren't the only ones in our year that don't think I'm a nutter."

"Her dad's an Auror in the Order too!" Ron said, and Hermione shushed him. He dropped his voice. "Wonder if Dad knows him…"

"Yes, she'll be good to have on our side at Hogwarts," Hermione said sensibly. "Ron, you're not flourishing your wand correctly, we worked on this last year with Harry!"

Ron frowned and spun his wand about, only succeeding in making the quill go in a circle before landing a few inches short of his hand.

"Averi said her friend in Ravenclaw believes me too," Harry added, feeling happier as he voiced this.

"Someone besides Luna and Cho? Wonderful, Harry," Hermione said, smiling. Then her expression changed. "Well that explains why we don't see her outside classes! If she sticks to the Ravenclaws…hmm, that is curious. Unusual, really."

"How's that? The Patil twins are in different houses, aren't they?" Ron said, smiling as the quill sailed into his hand on the fourth try.

"Well, sisters I can understand," said Hermione. "But it's very strange for people of two different houses to remain such good friends for so long. It's hard, maintaining and inter-house relationship like that. What with Quidditch – "

Both Ron and Harry snorted, but Hermione continued without seeming to notice.

" - and the competition for the House Cup, rivalries can sometimes be hard to manage," Hermione said wisely.

The next time Harry saw Averi, she was sitting with Lee Jordan, and Fred and George Weasley, laughing and failing miserably at trying to eat her mashed potatoes. Holding her side, she finally managed to finish the food on her plate before continuing her apparently hilarious conversation with the three 7th years. Harry decided he'd have to ask Fred and George about her.

Averi was finishing up her potions essay by the fire when Hermione came up to her in the common room to speak to her. Averi set down her quill and smiled wearily at Hermione as she sat down in the armchair beside her, looking even more exhausted than Averi felt.

"All right there, Averi?" she asked, sounding strained.

"As I can be," Averi replied. "You look bushed, my dear. Anything I can do?"

Hermione seemed to remember why she had come over in the first place. She sat up a little in the chair. "Yes," she said, licking her lips. "I've had an idea to solve our Umbridge problem."

Averi raised her eyebrows. "We're tossing Umbridge? Good on you, Hermione!"

Hermione laughed. "No, I meant her blasted teaching methods. We're not learning anything and now more than ever we've got to arm ourselves. So, I thought I'd see how many, er, trustworthy people would be interested."

"Who'd be teaching us? You?" Averi asked, sounding not at all against the idea.

"No, Harry would," Hermione replied, looking taken aback at Averi's complacency.

Averi nodded, a mild expression on her fair features. "Brilliant. Can I tell Petra?"

"Of course," said Hermione, who had met Petra the same day she had met Averi: their first day at Hogwarts. "We're meeting at the Hog's Head on the first Hogsmeade trip. Bring only people you trust. If Umbridge finds out, we'll be done for before we even begin."

"Sure thing," said Averi. "Thanks for letting me know, Hermione."

"Sure, Averi. When you gave Harry that letter I figured you'd be interested," she said, grinning. The mischief almost seemed to suit her normally stern features.

"And we're meeting in the Hog's Head," Averi said, relaying the last bit of Hermione's invitation to Petra, her best friend. Petra Jaimeson was everything a typical Ravenclaw was expected to be: clever and quick-witted, brainy, and able to see things others might not. However, she was uncharacteristically wise, especially for her age. She had curly, strawberry-blonde hair and sparkling aqua eyes. A smattering of brown freckles decorated her pale features, giving her the look that the bridge of her nose had been dusted with nutmeg.

Petra looked intrigued. "Excellent. Leave it to Gryffindor to take charge, eh?"

"Well, we are the brave ones," Averi replied with a smirk.

"Dunno if there's anyone else," said Petra, tapping her chin and rolling her eyes to the ceiling. "Michael Corner knows because Ginny told him…Cho's going, of course…"

"I've already told Noah, so he's coming too," Averi said. "Can't think of anyone else. Impossible to tell who's on our side right now…too early…too scared."

"I'm sure plenty of people will show up," Petra said. Her chocolate frog hopped hopefully across the table, where Averi snatched it up and ate it. "That was rather barbaric."

"Pish tush," Averi scoffed. She filled in the remaining spaces on her astronomy chart and rolled it up. "I've got to get some sleep. See you, Petra."

"G'night, Av."

They parted in the corridors and Averi walked back up to Gryffindor Tower, uneasy about how close to curfew she was with Umbridge about. She got back to the Tower in time to see Hermione berating the twins about their snackboxes again. She chuckled and started up the stairs. Fred called out to her.

"Oi! Averi! Want to give us a hand here?" he called, grinning as Hermione turned, furious.

"I love you dearly, Fred, but I'd rather not mess with a prefect," she laughed, and disappeared into her dormitory.

As Averi fell onto her bed, she wrapped herself in the warm sheets and sighed happily. The weekend was upon them.


End file.
